Monday, December 30, 2013

Nuts to that!

Reading an article in Food Quality New I was a bit confused about the about photo (above), said to be of pecan shells. Well, there may be pecans there at the back but the foreground is all almond and brazil nuts.

For the record, pecans look like this:

The gist of the article, though, was about the use of dried, powdered pecan shells as a natural, organic antibiotic, specifically against Listeria sp.

I would just like to point out that natural and organic are not the sole criteria for food safety. Strychnine, cyanide, arsenic and aflatoxins are all well encompassed by the 'natural and organic' umbrella. OK, arsenic's not organic. Just testing. Lots (I mean lots of lots) of things contain organic compounds that exhibit antibiotic properties when concentrated and deposited of some unsuspecting bacteria.

But nothing beats having the bacteria not present in the first place.

No amount of powdered hoodoo dust will trump good manufacturing practices and plant hygiene.
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